Sagemont rallies late to hand Deerfield first loss in opening round of Kreul Classic

Jeff Coby leads s Lions with 18 points

December 16, 2011|By Anthony Chiang, Sun Sentinel

CORAL SPRINGS — The Bucks started the game with a hot hand, but it was the way they finished the contest that ended up being the deciding factor.

After Deerfield Beach scored 11 unanswered points to begin the game, the Bucks scored just 12 in the entire fourth quarter, as Sagemont rallied to earn a 59-53 victory Friday at the Kreul Classic.

The comeback began with a dominant second-quarter effort from Lions senior Jeff Coby, who collected 12 points in the quarter to cut Deerfield Beach's lead to one heading into halftime. Coby finished with a team-high 18 points.

"I really felt good about us going into the second half because we were executing well on offense," Lions coach Adam Ross said. "And I thought we were doing a really good job on the defensive end."

Sagemont (7-3), which won the Class 2A State Championship last season, carried that momentum into the second half, holding the Bucks to just 21 points over the final two quarters.

Junior Terrence Johnson led Deerfield Beach (7-1) with a game-high 25 points. But it wasn't enough, as the Lions began the fourth quarter by scoring eight of the first 10 points to seal the win and overcome their slow start.

"We made some good defensive adjustments and the kids responded," Ross said. "We challenged them to keep guys from penetrating and that was the difference in the game."

Freshman Alaowei Talent, senior Stanley Durbin and Zanna combined to score 44 of the Crusaders' (5-1) points in the victory.

Despite those numbers, Coral Springs Christian's most impressive stat of the night came on the defensive end. The Crusaders held the Raiders (6-4) to just two points in the second quarter to take a 13-point lead into halftime.